Homeless Congress this Thursday

County Council Member Connally to Meet with Homeless Individuals on Thursday

PRESS RELEASE: The Homeless Congress will meet on December 9, 2010 at 1 p.m. at the Bishop Cosgrove Center with C. Ellen Connally before she takes her position on the new County Council. The meeting takes place on the second floor of the Cosgrove Center in the gymnasium, and we typically have representatives living at various shelters in the community. We have invited all of the new County Council members to attend and to begin a dialogue with homeless people, and Judge Connally has agreed to discuss our issues.

The Homeless Congress has secured endorsements from 4 candidates including Judge Connally that they would support potential legislation to regulate the shelters. “Many homeless people are concerned about the conditions within the shelters, and we want a local law that will regulate the publicly funded emergency housing facilities,” said Brian Davis of NEOCH. The Congress, the Coalition, and homeless people are asking for local regulations that will be enforced by some office within the County with an ability for homeless people to file a grievance if the shelter is not performing. “We are willing to negotiate on exactly what the legislation looks like, but we want a place that will have the authority to oversee the shelters. We want to avoid another situation in which 100 women slept in a shelter for the summer with only one working shower as happened this summer,” said Davis.

Homeless people hope to have regular interactions with the County Council and County Executive as they restructure County government.

Brian
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